General Dynamics Land Systems is in an interesting position for any Land 400 bid, given that it is the original equipment manufacturer of the Army’s current Abrams M1AI Main Battle Tank and Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) fleets.
Together these fleets make up the Army’s deployable armoured fighting vehicle (as opposed to protected mobility vehicle) capability and the company, through General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia, has supported them over many years.
As such GDLS is not an unknown quantity to Defence in terms of through life support capability and for these reasons it must surely be counted as one of the major contenders for the $10 billion program.
GDLS has a range of products applicable to the wider Land 400 land combat vehicle system project, including its Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV), for which the company says there are lethality options available; the LAV 6.0, as displayed at the Land Forces exposition in Brisbane last September, and the tracked Scout SV CRV/IFV (infantry fighting vehicle), which it sees as a possible replacement for Army’s upgraded M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers.
Looking to the recent release of a request for tender for phase 2 of the project, the mounted combat reconnaissance capability, John Harriott, the Canberra-based manager of business development and marketing for GDLS-A, said his company has yet to confirm its product offering.
“But we may be spoiled for choice because we are one of the few manufacturers of armoured fighting vehicles that actually has vehicles in production at the moment,” he detailed. “The team for Land 400 combines world-leading MOTS platforms with proven in-country manufacturing, integration, upgrade and through life support in order to develop a low-risk land combat vehicle capability that will meet the operational sustainment objectives outlined in the Operational Concept Document.”
Partnership
On March 11, GDLS-A announced that it had signed a teaming Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thales Australia to submit a bid for Land 400 Phase 2.
In a statement released to coincide with the teaming MoU Ian Cook, managing director of GDLS-A said that the experience of the two companies would enable to low-risk LCVS capability to be offered to Defence.
“This is a great opportunity for us to combine world-leading MOTS 8 x 8 platforms with proven in-country manufacturing, integration, upgrade and through-life support,” he said.
Thales Australia has a major local production capability through its Bushmaster assembly line in Bendigo and it is also looking to produce the Hawkei protected mobility vehicle in significant numbers under Land 121 Phase 4.
John Harriott says that GDLS has been in continuous contract with the Commonwealth for platform delivery or sustainment of armoured vehicles since 1992.
“We are most keen to extend that into Land 400,” he said. “In the market assessed for Land 400 GDLS are dominant because we produce effective vehicle systems tailored to the requirements of our individual customers.
“Customer relations are very important. This is all about repeat customers coming back for upgrades and new product.”
He said that GDLS products are subject to continuous test and evaluation in the most demanding threat and environmental conditions, through world’s best practice by the US Army, USMC, the UK, Canada, NZ and others.
Commonality with coalition partners is also a consideration Harriott says, pointing to the fact that Australia has benefitted from being a founding member of the world-wide LAV user group.
“Customer relations are very important. This is all about repeat customers being able to leverage long-term, respected relationships to acquire upgraded and new capability,” he added.
Industry opportunity
The scale of local industrial participation in Land 400 is not yet clear, but Harriott says the program could provide an opportunity for Australian industry to further contribute to the GDLS global supply chain.
“Armoured vehicles are GDLS core business, the company took 16 billion dollars (US) in orders last year. The opportunity for the Australian supply chain to access this market through Land 400 may enable them to develop the capability, processes and policies to compete within the global supply chain,” he detailed.
“GDLS-A will be looking to develop our Australian Industry Capability strategies around an enduring capability to ensure that we have a means of conducting cost effective repair, overhaul, sustainment and reset of capability throughout their life cycle.
“With regard to local assembly, this is a great opportunity to combine world-leading MOTS 8 x 8 platforms with proven in-country manufacturing, integration, upgrade and through life support based on maximising domestic and international opportunities for Australian industry.”
Platform selection
According to John Harriott, GDLS-A is currently performing a detailed assessment of the Land 400 Phase Two requirements in relation to the OCD and has not yet decided on a preferred platform or turret.
“We are reviewing the Commonwealth requirements with our teaming partner and potential suppliers to ensure that we understand and can achieve the requirement,” he detailed. “GDLS is most confident we can deliver a compliant response with a view to being down selected for the Risk Mitigation Activity. That is the focus of our efforts at present.”
This article first appeared in Australian Defence Magazine VOL.23 No.4, April 2015